surferlove007

Tomorrow I'm going surfing for the first time and I am quite nervous. I've been snowboarding a whopping 7 times ever and was finally doing blacks the last time I went this past spring break.

I've heard that there is a big similarity among surfing and snowboarding however also many differences as well. Has anyone done both of these sports and if so what are your suggestions for crossing over? Or just advice on surfing would be great. All and any information would be appreciated.

I've been you tubing introduction surfing videos and am trying to gain at least some sense of understanding of the sport so I'm not a total dufus. Keep in mind I rock climb at an indoor gym roughly 3 to 4 days a week and I'm a swimmer. So I have body strength to my advantage. The guy who's taking me said since I have 13 years of swimming under my belt plus the understanding of snowboarding I should pick it up fast.

little_tippler

Surfing is a breeze if you're just beginning. If you're that fit and have snowboarding and swimming experience, you should look like you've been doing it for a while first time. I wouldn't worry at all. I am pretty unfit and clumsy and I got up on the board first time I went surfing. Seriously, it's a total rush and I bet you'll love it!

Tips - make sure you don't get up too soon otherwise you won't catch the wave. When you feel it powering you forward, that's when you get up.

don't stand too straight when you do get up, crouch and use your arms to point you in the direction you want to go.

to avoid taking a nose dive on a steep wave, press your feet down on the back of the board to weigh it down as you first come down the wave (this works even when you're still lying down).

when going over the edge of a wave as you paddle out, to avoid crashing down, press your hands down on the board for a smoother 'landing'.

if the current is pulling you, swim perpendicularly to it.

paddling - cup your hands and keep your fingers together, that way you will move forward at a better pace.

practice turning (each arm paddling in a different direction - switch arn directions for turning left or right). The faster you can turn, the more waves you'll be fast enough to catch.

if a huge wave is coming towards you, and you're panicked, either paddle forward powerfully to get over it, or throw your board back and dive into the wave (this last bit should only be done if there is no-one behind you that might get hit, and you have no other choice). If you have a small, lighter board, get the instructor to teach you to duck dive, it's so useful.

Try and always be aware of people around you. Never sit in the water behind someone - you are blocking their path and putting yourself in danger.

Hope you come back and tell us how it went

__________________
Whether we write or speak or do but look
We are ever unapparent. What we are
Cannot be transfused into word or book.
Our soul from us is infinitely far.
However much we give our thoughts the will
To be our soul and gesture it abroad,
Our hearts are incommunicable still.
In what we show ourselves we are ignored.
The abyss from soul to soul cannot be bridged
By any skill of thought or trick of seeming.
Unto our very selves we are abridged
When we would utter to our thought our being.
We are our dreams of ourselves, souls by gleams,
And each to each other dreams of others' dreams.

Fernando Pessoa, 1918

surferlove007

I'm excited now! Thanks LT!

Jinn

My only tip is "HEAD AND EYES."

Whether you're on a motorcycle, driving a car, riding the slopes or surfing, it's all about your head and eyes. I remember a thread a long while back about you getting a Buell, so you might be familiar with this principle.


I find myself chanting "head and eyes" on my bike sometimes, because it's so true. Where your head and eyes are looking, your body will go. If you're looking through a corner, you'll make it through the corner. If you're looking down the slope, you'll go down the slope. It's subtle, but where you turn your head and eyes determines where your shoulders and and arms go, where your core goes to balance you, and ultimately which way your legs turn. As you're getting up on the surfboard, look where you want it to go, not down at the water. If you look down at the water, you'll go into the water.

__________________
"I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel

surferlove007

Wow it was a blast! I got up and rode several waves. Totally awesome time.